E.coli

Culture Medium: E.coli and coliform selective medium

Escherichia coli is used as an indication of faecal contamination in ballast water. The E.coli and coliform selective medium used in SeaSure is a selective medium able to selectively promote the growth of E.coli and coliforms through suppression of other bacterial types.

When this specialised bacterial growth medium combined with the bespoke protocol for E.coli in ballast water, E.coli is specifically detected, with coliform and other bacterial growth actively inhibited. These selective parameters, coupled with an associated colour change upon a positive E.coli detection, ensures highly selective and representative results. Used with SeaSure, these pre-populated culture vessels offer an excellent rapid, sensitive and quantitative method for assessing samples for the presence of E.coli.

SeaSure is particularly effective in detecting the particularly pathogenic strains of E.coli, such as E.coli 0157:H7, which does not possess an enzyme called glucuronidase. It is the absence of this particular enzyme, which is present in 96% of all other strains of E.coli, which makes it undetectable to conventional enzyme-based tests. As SeaSure does not rely on enzyme-dependant tests, detection is made regardless of this, and without the need of specialist laboratories.